


Lucky Break

by hibiren



Series: Jay's JoSeb Collection 2017 [4]
Category: The Evil Within (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Bars and Pubs, Bartenders, Dancing, Joseb - Freeform, M/M, Pool & Billiards
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-28
Updated: 2017-10-28
Packaged: 2019-01-25 11:59:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12530836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hibiren/pseuds/hibiren
Summary: The bar was mostly empty that night, save for a few late-night stragglers seeking solace before the nightshift. Sebastian, again, staying late, drinking his share--this time he remained in his favorite barstool until it was just Joseph and himself alone in the bar, with Joseph preparing to close. He took this opportunity to confide in his new friend, over a game of pool. Something to distract them both from their lives outside just for a moment.





	Lucky Break

**Author's Note:**

> A small continuation of my bartender AU, just because the idea of "detective pool night" had been floating around my head for a long while now (much like this whole AU) and I wanted to write it more or less even though it's very late; also I wanted to take my mind off of life for a bit and write

“It’s almost closing time, Sebastian,” Joseph remarked as he glanced at the clock and finished straightening up the stray glasses left by patrons on the bar countertop. He took a moment to fix his red bowtie once he was finished, after noticing one of the ends had started slipping loose. Sebastian remained in his chair, still sipping his glass of whiskey and as if he didn’t hear Joseph’s remarks, continued on with his tirade.

“Man, nothing’s open at night here. All the bars close at the same time. I don’t wanna go home yet, I’ve, uh, probably had too much. Y’know. Can’t drive. Or walk.”

Joseph found his lip twitching into a smirk despite himself. Heard the same excuse from many others, he knew all too well how to handle it. While he spoke he went about switching off all the bar’s neon signs, blinking gradually out of the nightlife, like a firefly disappearing into the dark. Open to close. Joseph took to wiping down the tables next to keep himself occupied and likely let Sebastian talk himself into giving up.

“I’ll call you a taxi?”

It was long past closing time, why was Sebastian still here? He’d paid a long time ago, the current glass of whiskey being his last--which explained why he took so much care in sipping at it. The man was really in desperate need of company, or perhaps just to keep out of the chill of the Krimson streets at dark.

To Joseph’s offer, Sebastian shrugged and set aside the whiskey. The glass clinked softly against the scratched finish of the counter and the remaining beads of condensation slowly dripped down the sides of the cup, pooling against the wood. Did he really want to send Sebastian home in a taxi? Maybe not from this part of town.

Sebastian drummed his fingers against the counter and hummed for a moment, as if forgetting himself. Forgetting that he was keeping both of them from going home, but there was just no stopping him. He always had some form of comeback, some form of excuse ready to be fired off like a pistol shot. Probably ingrained in him as a detective; knowing how to deflect questions.

“You play pool?” Sebastian suddenly asked, after glancing around the room, trying to find something else to talk about, when his eyes had settled on one of the two tables in the back corner. Joseph was usually just a bit more cheerful, slightly more talkative, but tonight he had other things on his mind. Like the half-decent mattress waiting for him at home, and a reheated cup of leftover soup from the restaurant near his place. However, just for now, maybe something as distracting as a game of pool would keep them both occupied. Right now, anything seemed better than wiping down stained tables and going home to be alone.

Joseph would humor him this time, because as much as he wanted to get out of the bar, he knew his home was just as empty as the bar was now--save for Sebastian. There was just something about him. It’s really dangerous for a bartender to not know when to say no. He was really going against his own grain here.

“You do know I’m supposed to be closing, right?” Joseph asked, testingly, stepping over to the table and picking up a cue from nearby. This testing simply of their unspoken but seemingly mutually-acknowledged desperation for companionship.

“C’mon, Jo, what’s one game gonna put you back? You afraid you’re gonna get your ass kicked that fast?” Sebastian, soon at his side, another cue in hand. Joseph was already setting the rack down on the table, carefully placing each ball in its place.

There was that nickname again. It always got him.

Joseph’s smile grew a bit wider in challenge. “I practically own this place; do you think I don’t know how to play a game or two? Because I think right now you’re far too drunk for darts. I’ll let you start us off, since you’re feeling so confident--Seb.”

Enjoying the chance to show off, Sebastian easily broke the setup and everything scattered neatly across the table with one swift cracking sound; Joseph and Sebastian both calculated their next moves, going silent as they watched. Waited.

The satisfying sound of soft _thumps_ slowed until everything on the table stopped; a freezeframe of motion.

“Solids it is, I guess.” Sebastian stepped back to the table, surveyed it, then lined up his shot. He was getting far too overconfident even this early in the game, the drink in him only bolstering his arrogance--his target skittered off the corner of the table and slapped against the 8-ball, causing it to inch dangerously close to a pocket. On top of that, he scratched, leaving Joseph to pick up the cue ball with a smug expression. “--Well, fuck.”

Several minutes later, Joseph was very much in the lead, easily able to maneuver around the precariously situated 8-ball. Sebastian just became more and more frustrated with either what was his lack of skill or Joseph’s unexpected professionalism in the drinker’s sport. He ought to try other tactics to win, perhaps? Sebastian cocked his head as a faint tune drifted up from the speakers, finding something distracting in the moment.

“You know this song, Joseph?” he asked, when he caught the man humming softly to himself as he glanced over the table, eyes still calculating his future moves.

Joseph nodded, glancing up at Sebastian from where he leaned against the table. “Old favorite. Why? Our radio’s just set to the one station we can get in here. We’re lucky if the sound works half the time.” He had one shot he could take to win, he knew, he just had to line it up and hope for the best.

“You got that right. When it’s empty in here, you really start to notice how staticky it sounds. But, you know? This song, reminds me a lot of when I was in high school. They played it at our senior prom.” Sebastian leaned against the wall beside his pool cue and watched the other man at work, watched as he just kept clearing the balls off the table. Sebastian wasn’t even going to have a chance to fight for himself now, it had been a losing battle the entire time.

“Oh, yeah?” Joseph had only one left now. An easy shot, taken successfully. He turned satisfactorily to Sebastian, who was now probably too wrapped up in his own nostalgia to notice that he lost.

“Yeah. It was the first dance, y’know. God, even though it was so long ago, I can still remember it like it happened last week.”

Joseph couldn’t help but chuckle as Sebastian wobbled around the empty bar for a minute, dancing with the ghost of his past; the man really had two left feet, at least when intoxicated. Joseph, granted, wasn’t much better in the coordination department, but he managed.

It surprised him when Sebastian grabbed him by the waist and pulled him close, close enough that Joseph could smell the remnants of whiskey and the faint scent of tobacco at his lips.

“You ever went to prom, Jo?”

Joseph, shocked, shook his head, found himself trapped and unable to free himself from Sebastian’s grip as much as he’d wanted to. Again, Sebastian had him caught. A dangerous look in his eyes. “Uh... no. I couldn’t afford it. And I didn’t really... have any dates or anything like that.”

“Damn shame. I bet you look good in a tux.”

Chuckling, Sebastian spun Joseph around as the music’s beat picked up. Joseph gasped, grabbing for Sebastian’s arm as he tried to keep up with just what was going on. This was probably the strangest night in his career, and he’d had some strange ones. Like the time an entire troupe of human circus members wandered in for a late-night snack and some drinks, and practically turned the bar into a carnival against his will. He always knew he hated clowns for a reason.

“C’mon, then, forget pool. I’ll dance with you instead.”

The ‘dancing’ was more like uncomfortable swaying, what with Sebastian’s tipsiness and Joseph’s more than slight discomfort. Eventually, Joseph just settled on the fact that if he went with it, it would stop after a while. But deep inside of himself, something was just glad for the physical proximity to someone else. As odd, uncomfortable, and awkward as it was. It just felt right. Even if the circumstances leading up to it were incredibly strange.

When the song finally ended, Joseph remained silent as he looked into Sebastian’s eyes. Though Sebastian was still drunk, Joseph could see the flickers of loneliness there. And in truth, he was sure the loneliness of his own mirrored right back.

“I... think we should head home for the night.”

“Still gonna call me that taxi?”

“...How about I just take you home? I don’t trust the taxi drivers this late.” Dangerous, Joseph, very dangerous, but... again, he was caught. Like a fly in a web, or a firefly in a jar. Blinking away while thumping aimlessly against the glass walls, hoping to be noticed by someone before its light died out. “I don’t live too far away, so it’s no big deal.”

Sebastian chuckled. “Go figure, me too. Sure, I’ll take you up on that.”

Very quickly, Joseph went about finishing his last closing details for the night and picked up his keys from their hiding place. Finally, he could be on his way home, where his half-decent bed and his soup were waiting--but also, for once, his commute would briefly be shared. He didn’t realize how much he missed having genuine company. For once, he didn’t close the bar’s doors behind him with dread for the next day, but with solace in knowing through a strange turn of events, he’d found a friend. Friends always seemed to just _happen_ , as if they were introduced just when he needed them to be there. Sebastian, it seemed, was his first true lucky break.


End file.
